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  • 01 Mar 2024 8:56 AM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)

    Law Student Association of the Year Award – OUTLaw UC Law San Francisco 

    UC Law SF’s OUTlaw is a dynamic and inclusive student pro bono organization, dedicated to promoting LGBTQ+ visibility, advocacy, and community within the legal profession. Through a diverse range of initiatives, including social events, career development panels, and pro bono legal clinics, OUTlaw strives to create a supportive and empowering environment for LGBTQ+ law students and allies.  


  • 01 Mar 2024 8:50 AM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)

    Julius Turman Award – Megan Noor 

    Megan Noor is a third-year law student at Berkeley Law School.  She’s an immigrants' rights and queer rights advocate.  Megan hopes to pursue a career in transgender and queer rights litigation after graduation.  


  • 01 Mar 2024 8:22 AM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta -- Legal Service Award 

    San Francisco Spikes Soccer Club – Trailblazer Award  

    Lavender Phoenix -- Community Service Award  


    California Attorney General Rob Bonta -- Legal Service Award 

    Every year, BALIF recognizes individuals and organizations with an outstanding commitment to LGBTQ equity and justice who have significantly advanced those causes through their work in the law.  This year, we recognize Attorney General Rob Bonta for his tireless efforts and advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ Californians and LGBTQ people across the nation.  

    On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta was sworn in as the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian-American to occupy the position. Attorney General Bonta's passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, who served on the frontlines of some of America's most important social justice movements. It's why he decided to become a lawyer — to help right historic wrongs and fight for people who have been harmed. He worked his way through college and graduated with honors from Yale University and attended Yale Law School. Attorney General Bonta has led statewide fights for racial, economic, and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters, and working Californians. He previously worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the City and County and its employees, and fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling. He went on to pursue elected office in Alameda County, first as an Alameda Council Member and later as an Assemblymember representing Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. In the State Assembly, Attorney General Bonta enacted nation-leading reforms to inject more justice and fairness into government and institutions. As the People's Attorney, he sees seeking accountability from those who abuse their power and harm others as one of the most important functions of the job. He is married to Mia Bonta, and they are the proud parents of three children Reina, Iliana, and Andres, as well as their dog Legolas.


    San Francisco Spikes Soccer Club – Trailblazer Award  

    Since 2020, BALIF has honored individuals and organizations who make great strides in LGBTQ with a vision of for the future of the LGBTQ community.  The San Francisco Spikes Soccer Club is an all gender LGBTQ+  and allied soccer club. The club’s origins are as a team formed to compete in the first Gay Games.  When team members wanted to keep playing soccer together after the games, the Spikes were born!  Today the club is home to over 160 dues paying members who represent a multitude of identities across the queer community.  The Spikes offer competitive, intermediate, and recreational soccer programming.  The club plays futsal indoors during the winter and throughout the rest of the year practices, competes in local leagues, and sends teams to tournaments across North America and the world.  As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization the Spikes also believe that everyone should have access to an inclusive soccer community, regardless of financial means. The club provides scholarships to anyone in need who wants to play with the club.  


    Lavender Phoenix -- Community Service Award  

    Every year, BALIF also honors individuals and organizations who empower and support our LGBTQ community in the Bay Area.  This year BALIF honors Lavender Phoenix (formerly known as APIENC).  Lavender Phoenix builds transgender, non-binary, and queer Asian and Pacific Islander power to transform our communities.  Through its organizing work, the organization trains grassroots leaders, advances community safety, and advocates for healing justice. 

  • 16 Feb 2024 10:49 AM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)


    Love BALIF? Want to help us grow our community and increase our LGBTQ+ advocacy and reach? For the month of February, if you refer a friend, colleague, family member or community member to join BALIF, we’ll give you a FREE drink coupon (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) for use at our 44th Annual Gala on March 1st! 

    How? If you refer someone new to BALIF, let them know they can provide your name in the “referred by” field when filling out their membership application: 

    https://www.balif.org/membership and we’ll be in touch about your coupon!

    Questions? Email membership@balif.org

  • 26 Jan 2024 11:57 PM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)


    The Julius Turman Award will be granted by the BALIF Foundation to one law student each year who has shown outstanding commitment to advocacy for LGBTQI+ individuals. 

    The recipient must be currently a member of BALIF, enrolled at a Bay Area Law School, identify somewhere on the LGBTQI+ spectrum, and awardee will be recognized at the BALIF Gala at the Julia Morgan Ballroom on March 1, 2024. The Award will be administered annually by a committee composed of members of the BALIF Foundation directors. 

    The Award will include a monetary stipend (up to $1,500) to be used in support of attending Lavender Law or another appropriate conference or purpose (as identified by the award recipient and award committee). 

    Nominations must be received by February 9, 2024. Finalists for the Julius Turman Award may be invited to participate in an interview in mid-February.

    *Please note you can nominate yourself.

    Click Here to Apply

  • 26 Jan 2024 11:50 PM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)


    BALIF Foundation invites all LGBTQI law student associations in the Bay Area to apply for BALIF Foundation’s annual “Law Student Association of the Year” award.  

    Each year, the award is presented to a Bay Area law student group that has demonstrated a unique level of commitment to serving the LGBTQI community at its law school and in its community.

    The selected law school association will win a cash prize of $500 and will be recognized at the BALIF Annual Gala to be held on Friday, March 1, 2024 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom. (www.balif.org)

    We look forward to receipt of your application for the 2024 award.

    Applications Due: February 15, 2024 by 5pm

    Click Here to Apply

  • 16 Sep 2022 9:15 PM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)


    BALIF's New Lawyers Committee is accepting applications for the 2022-2023 Mentorship Program! BALIF's incredibly successful mentorship program is back and we're hoping to recruit eager law students, post-bar graduates, and lawyers of every experience level to receive mentorship from a wide array of legal backgrounds and life experiences. As any lawyer will tell you, mentoring is an integral part to any professional's success in their career. 

    If you are interested in applying to be either a mentee or mentor (or both if you're a practicing lawyer!), please follow the links to the appropriate application (all responses are confidential, and the entire application can be completed in 5 minutes). Applications will close Wednesday, October 5th, and pairings will be released at BALIF's Annual Mentor/Mentee Happy Hour, which will take place on Thursday, October 13. Please check your email and the BALIF newsletter for updates. If anyone has any questions, feel free to reach out to the New Lawyers and Law Students Co-Chairs at newlawyers@balif.org

    Click here for the Mentee Application.

    Click here for the Mentor Application. 

  • 19 Aug 2022 12:00 PM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)

    The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is pleased to announce that it has selected California Deputy Attorney General Lisa J. Cisneros to fill the magistrate judgeship recently vacated by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley upon her appointment as a U.S. District Judge.

    Ms. Cisneros will join the court from the California Department of Justice, where she serves as a Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section. In this capacity, she has represented California and its agencies in complex affirmative and defensive litigation, primarily in the federal trial and appellate courts. Ms. Cisneros has led teams litigating cases in the areas of gender equality, immigration, healthcare, workplace safety, and antidiscrimination law.

  • 18 Aug 2022 4:57 PM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)


    Biden announced he nominated Judge Daniel Calabretta (nee Powell) to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. If confirmed, Calabretta would be the first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on the federal district court.

    Calabretta was a BALIF member, BALIF Board Member and Gala Chair for many years. Congratulations!

  • 24 Jul 2022 10:00 PM | BALIF Administrator (Administrator)

    Just last September, BALIF joined an amicus brief filed by the National Women's Law Center in support of the respondents in Dobbs v. Jackson.  

    On June 24th, a conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court devastatingly overruled the protections afforded by Roe w. Wade in that very case. BALIF stands with all persons impacted by this erroneous reversal of the right to an abortion, especially given that this decision may impact LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of other marginalized communities in the future. What may we do in the meantime?

    Let us continue to foster community, share our stories, and work together to support just policies, legislation, and jurisprudence. As we prepare to celebrate SF Pride and the end of Pride Month this weekend, please join your LGBTQ+ legal community before the SF Pride Parade on Sunday morning for our BALIF & Morrison Foerster Pride Breakfast, or for the SF Dyke Marchtomorrow.  

    In solidarity,

    The BALIF Board and Co-Chairs


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